Safiya Alsayegh has announced her retirement from bike racing and cycling, bringing a 10-year journey in the sport to an end at the age of 25.
The Emirati rider said the decision followed several difficult years in which she increasingly felt a conflict between professional cycling and her religious beliefs around modest dress. In a personal statement, Alsayegh explained that she had ultimately chosen to prioritise what she believes is required by her faith.
“Some decisions are made with your head. Others are made with your heart,” she wrote, before confirming that she was stepping away from both racing and cycling.
Safiya Alsayegh ends a pioneering Emirati cycling career
Alsayegh became one of the most important figures in the development of women’s cycling in the United Arab Emirates. She was the first Emirati woman to race at Women’s WorldTour level and, in 2024, became the first female cyclist from the UAE to compete at the Olympic Games when she started the women’s road race in Paris.
Her career also included repeated success at home. Alsayegh won the UAE road race and individual time trial titles on multiple occasions, including another national double in 2026. The previous year she took silver in the elite women’s time trial at the Asian Road Cycling Championships, the first Asian Championships medal won by an Emirati female cyclist.
Photo Credit: TCA - Thailand Cycling Association / UAE Team L’IMADReligious beliefs behind retirement decision
Alsayegh said the final years of her career had been difficult mentally, not because of the demands of elite sport itself, but because she felt caught between her identity as a cyclist and her beliefs as a Muslim woman who wanted to dress modestly.
She said the issue had remained in her mind for a long time before she reached a final decision in 2026. Rather than presenting the move as a loss of motivation for racing, Alsayegh described it as a conscious choice based on obedience to her faith and what she personally believes is right.
Her announcement also thanked her parents, family, friends and supporters around the world. She said she hoped to be remembered not simply for results, but for her conduct, her efforts to bring joy to others and for representing Islam positively wherever her cycling career took her.
Five professional seasons with UAE structure
Alsayegh spent five seasons within the UAE professional structure and thanked UAE Team L’IMAD for the support that helped her race internationally and represent her country. She had been part of UAE Team ADQ at WorldTour level before racing with the development team in 2026.
That period took her from national racing to the Women’s WorldTour, the Asian Championships and the Olympic Games. Her progress was closely tied to the UAE team’s wider push to create a pathway for Emirati women into professional cycling.
Alsayegh’s final season still included major results at home, with victories in both the UAE individual time trial and road race championships. Her retirement therefore comes while she remains the country’s leading female road cyclist rather than after a long decline in performance.
A career that changed what was possible for UAE women’s cycling
The scale of Alsayegh’s influence goes beyond her results. When she entered the WorldTour and then the Olympics, there was no previous Emirati female rider following the same pathway. Her career gave the UAE a visible reference point for women moving from domestic cycling into international competition.
Her retirement closes that chapter after a decade on the bike, but the pathway she helped establish remains. Alsayegh leaves the sport as a multiple national champion, Asian Championships medallist and Olympian, while making clear that the decision to stop was ultimately about remaining consistent with her own beliefs.
